LUXURY car giant Bentley pledged today that production of a four-door version of the hugely-successful Continental GT would not be lost to Germany.

Bosses at the Crewe-based company were seeking to allay fears the new car would be made in Dresden, Germany, at a factory owned by parent company Volkswagen.

Trade unions are to meet the management next week to seek assurances over the medium to long term future of the historic factory which employs more than 3,000 people.

They are concerned over plans to shift some work to Germany if the Crewe factory cannot meet demand.

Bentleys have been made in the Cheshire town since 1946. The company was bought by VW in 1998 and the German firm has invested over é60m in the plant since then. The é110,000, 200mph Continental GT, is this season's must-have item for top footballers such as Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs.

A spokeswoman at the company said reports that a proposed nightshift at Crewe had been shelved in favour of the German option, were wrong. She said: "I can't emphasise enough that the new model is coming to Crewe and will be made here as a reward to the hard work and efficiency of the factory."